


a collision of atoms

by easycomeeasygo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Byun Baekhyun is a Little Shit, Fluff, Kim Jongdae | Chen is a Little Shit, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen, Soft Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 18:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17007162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easycomeeasygo/pseuds/easycomeeasygo
Summary: “Oh,” Baekhyun says, eyes bright. He looks evil. “You should join Tinder.”





	a collision of atoms

**Author's Note:**

> sweats nervously I don't know what I'm doing

“Come on Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun says, “You have to at least consider dating again.”

“Yeah,” Jongdae adds, “It’s been ages since Kyungsoo and it’s not like you’re moping about it or anything. You might as well at least go on dates.”

Chanyeol sighs. The amount of nagging that Baekhyun and Jongdae have been doing for the last few weeks has grown exponentially. It’s almost to the point where he’s going to just give in. He really doesn’t think he can handle both of them being _this_ annoying. There’s only so much Baekhyun he can handle, and when he’s encouraged by Jongdae, he really thinks his brain is going to implode.

“Oh,” Baekhyun says, eyes bright. He looks evil. “You should join Tinder.”

“I am absolutely not joining Tinder, Baek. Why would I do that, I’m not interested in hooking up or anything like that.”

“But Chanyeol,” Jongdae interrupts, “You should at least _try_.”

Chanyeol frowns at that. He’s pretty sure they’re just wearing him down but he finds himself considering it. “It’s not really that I don’t want to date,” Chanyeol says. “I just want to find something serious. Most people on tinder and stuff are just looking for a hookup or something super casual.”

Baekhyun and Jongdae both look at him, matching fond expressions. He hates them.

“Oh you soft, soft boy. You soft fucking giant,” Jongdae coos.

Baekhyun takes advantage of Jongdae taking his attention and launches himself at Chanyeol. He manages to get his hand on Chanyeol’s side and begins to tickle him, taking advantage of Chanyeol’s thrashing to grab his phone. He tickles Chanyeol more, making him fall off of the couch onto the floor screeching, giving Baekhyun time to escape before Chanyeol can even think to clumsily try to grab his phone back.

“Now,” Baekhyun says, fiddling around with Chanyeol’s phone, “let’s make this profile.”

They talk amongst themselves and all Chanyeol can really hear is them asking each other opinions on photos and bickering. When Chanyeol gets up to try to sit with them and watch, Baekhyun all but hisses at him and Jongdae cackles. He really hates them.

“Chanyeol, come over here.”

Baekhyun flips through the photos he’s chosen and he’s happy with the ones they picked. They’re good ones of him, nothing stupidly embarrassing.

“And here’s the bio.”

Chanyeol is relieved. At first, it kind of seemed like Jongdae and Baekhyun were just torturing him and wanted some new thing to focus their torment on. But after seeing just how serious they took making his profile, including taking into account what he said about wanting something serious, they’re just looking out for him. It’s sweet, almost.

“Well,” Baekhyun asks, “How did we do?”

“It’s… really good. It looks really good. I’m just…”

“We’re not saying you _have_ to do it. It’s just an option that you don’t have to put any thought into since we already did it for you.”

“Dae is right. You should at least consider it.”

Jongdae grins, “Think of the double dates, Chanyeol.”

 

-

 

Chanyeol loves Friday nights. Yixing and Jongin always meet him, Jongdae, and Baekhyun at a local dive bar where the beer is cheap and the mixed drinks aren’t terribly watered down. Sometimes Jongin brings Jimin and Taemin with him, but usually it’s the 5 of them. Something about tonight is different though. Jongdae and Baekhyun are more affectionate. Yixing and Jongin are stealing glances at each other. And Chanyeol, Chanyeol feels alone. He’s been single for a while now and he’s never been jealous of Jongdae and Baekhyun, at least not until now. It’s a weird feeling, he doesn’t like it. He drinks his jack and coke quietly, floating in and out of whatever inane debate the four of them are having, making little comments. He hopes it’s enough that no one notices that he’s acting off.

Before they leave, Baekhyun drags Chanyeol to the bathroom leaving the other three to settle their tab.

“You’ve been quiet,” Baekhyun says.

“Shit,” Chanyeol replies. He might be drunk. “I might be drunk.” He hopes it’s enough of a deflection, he really doesn’t feel like talking about his feelings with Baekhyun, drunk, in a gross fucking bar bathroom.

Baekhyun laughs. “Oh, Chanyeollie. We live close enough to you, we’ll make sure you get home okay. But we’re going to talk about this! You can’t escape me, giant.”

When Chanyeol gets home, he immediately trips over his own feet.

“Fuck,” he mutters to himself. Thank god Baekhyun and Jongdae aren’t there. They already have more than enough blackmail fodder to use against him.

He makes his way to the kitchen and downs a glass of water, taking an ibuprofen with it. He fucks around for a bit, shittily playing Overwatch waiting until the spins are _finally_ gone so he can drink another glass of water and finally go to bed.

He’s flipping through his phone, getting bored of refreshing twitter and instagram when he sees Tinder. He opens the app, reading the instructions explaining what swiping each way means and he figures this might be a good way to kill some time.

He only swipes left. Most of these profiles are _horrible._ Either shitty photos (seriously why are there so many group shots, how is he supposed to know which one you are) or bullshit bios with cliche quotes and really generalized interests that 90% of the general public have (everyone wants to fucking travel). No one catches his attention. That is, no one until _Sehun._ He’s really fucking gorgeous. He’s tall, and Chanyeol forgot how much he actually likes tall guys. His hair is dyed an auburn color. Chanyeol can’t remember the last time he’s seen someone _this_ hot. He sees that Sehun is a backup dancer and his bio makes him seem interesting. Chanyeol figures this guy is way out of his league and wouldn’t match with him anyway so he swipes right.

At least now if Jongdae and Baekhyun ever ask, he could say that yes, he’s tried the app, and yes he has swiped right on people, and get them off his back.  

 

-

 

Chanyeol wakes up late the next morning, sunlight bright in his bedroom. The ibuprofen staved away any potential hangover and he’s beyond relieved. He gets out of bed and mechanically runs through his morning routine, getting dressed and heads to the gym. When he gets back he plays Overwatch and he feels a little better about last night.

That night, he gets a notification from Tinder. Confused, he opens the app and sees “You’ve Matched!”  

Fuck, Chanyeol thinks. He definitely was not expecting that. His brain implodes even more when he sees that he actually has a _message_ from Sehun.

**Sehun**

hey :) i didn’t expect us to match!

 

Chanyeol cannot believe it. He wants to bury himself in his oversized sweatshirt and blankets. He could ask Jongdae and Baekhyun for advice, but then he’d be asking _Jongdae and Baekhyun for advice_ and that feels nightmare inducing. He figures Sehun will stop replying when he realizing how boring he is, so he haphazardly replies, trying not to overthink it.

 

**Chanyeol**

hey! haha neither did i

how are you

 

He cringes anyway, seriously, how do people do this?

 

**Sehun**

i’m good

so you write music? what kind?

 

And that? Chanyeol can talk about that.

They end up messaging for while before Sehun sends him his Kakao ID, saying it’s easier than using the app and they continue their conversation on there.

He learns a lot about Sehun. He plays a lot of PUBG and prefers it over Fortnite, which Chanyeol emphatically agrees with. Sehun makes fun of him for being a Hanzo main and Chanyeol makes fun of him for being a Genji main. He sends him a ton of photos of his dog, Vivi, who Chanyeol is already deeply in love with. He constantly sends him selfies, from all types of angles and still flattering and sometimes Chanyeol replies with his own. He sends Sehun a photo of his studio, saying he lives here now and Sehun immediately starts asking him about One Piece when he sees the Straw Pirates flag. Chanyeol is pretty sure that Sehun is his soulmate.

When he’s feeling especially brave, he sends Sehun little snippets of what he’s working on, usually just something he’s playing on keyboard or guitar. Sehun usually responds telling him how good he is and how he’d love to hear more whenever he feels like sharing. One time he sends one of him singing a song that Sehun mentioned he had stuck in his head. It’s really late so Chanyeol assumes he’s just sending the video into the void and he doesn’t have to worry about what Sehun might say until morning but his phone explodes with notifications and Sehun is video calling him.

“Jesus Christ,” Sehun says once Chanyeol answers. “Your voice is amazing but also why are you still awake.”

Sehun is in the dark, Chanyeol can barely make out his features, but he’s in bed, sleepy, shirtless, and so _so_ hot.

“I kind of lost track of time,” Chanyeol replies, “It’s kind of easy to just stay here all night working.”

“Your voice is so deep. How is your voice like that when your face is so adorably cute.”

Chanyeol laughs, everyone says that to him but it makes his heart race with Sehun saying that. Maybe this is what Jongdae and Baekhyun mean when they call him soft. Yikes.

“Uhm.”

Sehun smiles softly, “You should sing more Yeol, like all the time.”

 

-

 

After another day of Sehun maybe flirting with him and Chanyeol possibly flirting back, Chanyeol asks Sehun on a coffee date. It’s probably the most nerve-wracking thing he’s done in ages but Sehun says yes, _obviously_ , and they agree to meet at a coffee shop that Sehun suggests on Saturday afternoon.

Friday rolls around again and to Chanyeol’s relief, he doesn’t feel so much like a 5th wheel out with the boys. Yixing and Jongin talk about working with Ten, one of the NCT kids for some choreography video that should be coming out soon.

“You look... softer,” Jongdae says randomly.

Chanyeol pouts, “What does that even mean?”

“I just wanna squeeze your face more than usual. Why is that? What are you hiding Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol sighs. “I’m not hiding anything, please give me a beer.”

Before they leave Chanyeol finds himself dragged to the bathroom by Baekhyun again.

“Baek, we have to stop meeting like this,” Chanyeol says.

“You’re not as sad as last week what are you hiding, giant.”

Chanyeol laughs, “What is up with you and Jongdae thinking I’m hiding something? I’m not. Can we stop trying to have discussions about my life in the bathroom of this fucking bar?”

Baekhyun eyes him suspiciously. Chanyeol isn’t drunk which is definitely making it easier to brush Baekhyun off, thank God.

“I’m onto you, Park Chanyeol.”

“There’s nothing to be on me about, Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol sing-songs, walking out of the bathroom.

 

The thing about having two tiny demons as best friends is that he’s learned from the best how to deflect and torment.

 

-

 

Saturday has Chanyeol nervous as fuck. At the gym he works harder than usual and it works, getting a solid two hours of distraction but when he gets home it’s a nightmare. He tries working on a song to distract him but all he can think is DATE WITH BOY.

He overthinks everything, taking way longer than usual getting dressed. It’s probably the one time he wishes he told someone that he was going on a date. He could tell Yixing. Yixing would be nice and helpful, giving him useful advice and picking out a decent outfit for him. But Yixing would probably tell Jongin, who would definitely tell Jongdae and Baekhyun. It’s not that he doesn’t want them to know, he just wants to navigate this whole date thing on his own. Mostly, he wants to know that he’s capable of actually meeting another human being himself instead of being introduced to everyone he knows through them.

Chanyeol waits by the entrance inside of the coffee shop. He’s scrolling through twitter trying to distract himself when he hears a voice say, “Chanyeol?”

When he looks up he’s face to face with Sehun. He’s somehow even more gorgeous in person. He’s a tiny bit shorter than him, but he’s still so fucking tall.

“Hey Sehun.”

“Fuck,” Sehun says in awe, “You’re so _tall._ ”

Chanyeol laughs, “You’re tall too though.”

“Come on,” Sehun says, grabbing Chanyeol’s arm and pulling him towards the cash register, “Let’s get coffee.”

They end up sitting and talking for ages. Chanyeol is surprised at just how much he actually likes Sehun, now that they’re actually talking face to face. He’s snarky and kind of bratty and so bold. He just says things like it’s no big deal, telling Chanyeol how good he looks and how cute he is in person. It’s nice. It’s even nicer when they leave and Sehun kisses him goodbye.

 

-

 

They go on more dates after that. He actually takes his lunch breaks, going out and meeting Sehun almost every day. When Sehun is working super late every night, Chanyeol brings him coffee and his favorite protein bars. He overhears Sehun call out to the other dancers that he’s talking to his boyfriend and will be back in 10 minutes. Chanyeol really likes how that sounds.

Dating Sehun is amazing. He’s super affectionate, always letting Chanyeol cuddle on him, which he didn’t realize he needed in a partner. He’s also actually interested in everything that Chanyeol does at work and for fun with music, always asking about what he’s working on and with. He also low key tortures him, acting like a brat until he gets Chanyeol’s full attention and constantly making fun of how big he is.

“You’re so big. Your body is so big. Your hands are big. Your ears are fucking big. Why are you so big, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol lightly punches him, “Sehun, you’re barely shorter than me.”

“Your biceps are big,” Sehun continues, as if Chanyeol hasn’t spoken, “Your shoulders are big.”

Sehun grins, sliding down Chanyeol’s body, “You’re so fucking big.”

 

-

 

Chanyeol has been alternating between being excited and terrified of introducing Sehun to Baekhyun and Jongdae. He knows they’ll like him but he’s still dreading having to actually deal with them, especially since he still hasn’t told them about Sehun. He’s been trying to get Sehun to Friday bar nights for just about a month now but Sehun always ends up having work or something pop up. He’s starting to feel bad that Jongdae and Baekhyun don’t know about him, especially since it’s been just over a month since their first date.

“What’d you even tell them anyway?” Sehun asks.

“Nothing I was just going to bring you. Gonna surprise them,” Chanyeol shrugs.

Sehun laughs, “They’re going to eat you alive.”

“It’ll catch them off guard, they won’t have enough time to even process, especially since you can give it as much as they do.”

“Are they really that bad?” Sehun sounds excited at that prospect. Chanyeol cannot believe he only associates with people like this.

He sighs, replying, “They’re tiny demons whose powers got amplified when they started dating. You’ll love them.”

 

-

 

Chanyeol and Sehun show up first on Friday. Chanyeol is telling Sehun about the latest EP he’s producing when Baekhyun and Jongdae show up.

“Baek, Dae,” Chanyeol says, “This is Sehun.”

They both look at him, matching curious expressions when Jongdae replies, "Why is he wearing your sweatshirt, Chanyeollie.”

“Chanyeollie!” Baekhyun exclaims too loudly, “Is this what you were hiding.”

“They _are_ like tiny demons,” Sehun says smiling. Chanyeol can tell how amused he is by them, he hates just how right he was about Sehun loving them.

Baekhyun stares at Sehun, struggling to keep a straight face, “Come say that to my face.”

Sehun slides out of the booth and stands up, towering over both Baekhyun and Jongdae. They both turn their heads up to look at him and Chanyeol is so glad that he’s able to witness this.

“Chanyeollie,” Baekhyun whines, “You found another giant.”

Sehun laughs, “I’m Sehun, I’ve heard a lot about you guys.”

Jongdae replies, “And we’ve heard nothing about you, Sehun, but Chanyeollie has been all soft lately so I guess we have you to thank for that.”

“Stop saying that,” Chanyeol complains. “What does that even mean.”

Sehun moves to sit next to Chanyeol again, putting his arm around his shoulder and replying, “He’s right, you are soft. A soft boy. The softest boy.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun both grin widely at that. “We like him.”

Chanyeol groans.

The rest of the night is mostly focused on Sehun. Jongdae, Baekhyun and later Yixing and Jongin as well when they get there, grill him. Sehun takes it in stride, getting along really well with Chanyeol’s friends. He thinks he could get used to this. He really shouldn’t be shocked at how easily Sehun has slotted in with his nightmare friends.

Sehun gets sucked into conversation with Jongdae and Jongin while Chanyeol is talking to Baekhyun and Yixing. Jongdae pouts when Sehun mentions that they’ve been dating for a month now.

“Chanyeol. Chanyeollie. You’ve been dating this sweet boy for a MONTH and you haven’t told us?”

Chanyeol’s eyes narrow, looking at Sehun, “Why is he calling you that, what did you do, what did you say.”

Sehun grins, “I have never said a single thing wrong in my whole entire life.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes and responds to Jongdae. “I didn’t want to listen to you whine for ages about wanting to meet him so I just waited until he could come.”

Jongdae cackles, “This is the evilest thing you’ve ever done Chanyeol. I’m so proud.”

 

-

 

Baekhyun, no shock at all, drags Chanyeol to the bathroom.

“Baek,” Chanyeol says. He’s really sick of having discussions in the bathroom. Why can’t they just go outside, or even better, just do this at one of their places, or somewhere with food, literally _anywhere_ else.

“Shut up Chanyeol, this is our safe place. We can talk about anything here.”

“What do you want,” Chanyeol whines. He really hates Baekhyun.

“I like your giant boyfriend,” Baekhyun says. “He makes you smile and it’s cute.”

Chanyeol smiles, “I like him too.”

“You met on him on Tinder didn’t you?”

Chanyeol sighs and begins to walk out.

“You’re welcome,” Baekhyun sings loudly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon)


End file.
